The Readout: A Conversation on Confronting the Opioid Crisis

More than 300,000 Americans have died from overdoses involving opioids since 2000. President Donald J. Trump has mobilized his entire Administration to address opioid abuse by directing the declaration of a nationwide Public Health Emergency.

The U.S. Department of State is working to assemble an international response to the opioid crisis. At the 61st UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), March 12-16, in Vienna, Austria, the United States secured international control of carfentanil, a particularly lethal fentanyl analogue that is contributing to thousands of deaths in the United States, and spearheaded adoption of a resolution aimed at mobilizing a global response to the opioid crisis.

In the latest edition of "The Readout," State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert discusses these efforts with Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway, who oversees White House efforts to combat the opioid overdose epidemic. Conway highlights how the Administration has moved quickly to answer this growing threat, one that she describes as the "crisis next door." Watch their conversation here: